


The Convention

by Phantoms_Echo



Series: The Writing Process [4]
Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Agent!Sonoko, Alternate Universe - Writer, Comedy, Kaito is a fanboy for Shinichi's work, M/M, Q&A Panel, Shinichi has no chill, That's where it all went wrong, Writer!Kaito, Writer!Shinichi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-07
Updated: 2017-09-08
Packaged: 2018-12-25 03:34:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12027249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phantoms_Echo/pseuds/Phantoms_Echo
Summary: Shinichi will admit, there was probably a better way of handling this. If he had known, at the time, how much of a headache this was going to become, he would have looked for said better method.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito, only the events in this fic.
> 
>  
> 
> PS -Pretty sure I told some people this would load on Friday. That was back when I thought today was Friday. Today is not Friday. Today is Thursday. I am very sad. :(

Shinichi will admit, there was probably a better way of handling this. If he had known, at the time, how much of a headache this was going to become, he would have looked for said better method.

As it was, he blindly walked into a trap.

It started innocently enough with a single question.

“Have you thought about a cross-over between Elementary Conan and the Moonlight Magician?” It was a question from a fan during one of his many panels. It was a question, plain and simple, a simple yes or no. If Shinichi had said either answer, that would have been the end of it.

Instead, he answered, “Conan and what?”

His father face-palmed beside him as the crowd went _wild_. How could he have never heard about Moonlight Magician? How could he call himself a mystery novelist if he’d never read of his competition? _Didn’t he read the fan letters they sent him?!_

(The answer was no. Sonoko read them and gave him the important ones.)

“Settle down!” the announcer called over the crowd, “Settle down! I’m sure Kudou-san has a good explanation for this!”

The crowd still grumbled as the announcer turned to Shinichi, death threats concealed behind a camera smile.

Shinichi gulped.

“I don’t mean to raise a ruckus,” Shinichi started, “I do try to read as many letters as I can, but there are thousands of them every day. And you must know, as my fans, that my primary job is a homicide detective working with Tokyo Division One. When I’m not solving cases, I’m writing some for my novels. There is not a lot of time in-between for reading and catching up on the latest genre trends.”

Shinichi left out the part where he’d still choose Sherlock Holmes over any modern book, _especially_ one concerning a thief.

“Next question?” the announcer asked when the crowd didn’t immediately break into another mob. He pointed to a hand in the back.

“For Kudou-san again,” said a girl dressed up as Rei from the first Elementary Conan cover art. “Now that you know about it, are you going to read Moonlight Magician and consider a cross-over?”

“Yes, of course,” Shinichi agreed with a smile.

The girl narrowed her eyes, “You’re lying.”

Shinichi froze, “Excuse me?”

“Everyone knows Kudou-san’s left eyebrow twitches when he lies!” the girl exclaimed.

... Does it really?

“You’re lying, Kudou-san!” the girl said into the mike as the crowd rallied around her, “You’re lying to your fans! You’re lying to the world! Most importantly, you’re lying to yourself!”

And that’s how Shinichi found himself in an impromptu PR meeting with his agent.

“Well…” Sonoko said, turning off the video of the panel, “You done fucked up.”

“Thank you for putting that so eloquently,” Shinichi grimaced, “Aren’t you supposed to be the heiress of a company or something?”

“I am, which means I have something to fall back on when this runs itself into the ground,” Sonoko put her tablet down, “You, on the other hand, don’t.”

Shinichi raised an eyebrow, “What is my homicide detective-ship? Chopped liver?”

“You said it, not me,” Sonoko shrugged, “Anyway, the only way we’re going to avoid this shit-show is to get Kuroba and his agent on the line and get a cross-over started.”

“...Who?”

“You can’t be this dense,” Sonoko groaned, “Kuroba Kaito? Author of Moonlight Magician? How do you not know?!”

“I didn’t know a series like that _existed_ until a few hours ago!” Shinichi protect, “How was I supposed to know the name of the _author_?!”

“It’s been around for _years_! Quit living under a rock!”

“I didn’t _know that_! And I do _not_ live under a rock!”

“Don’t get your twitchy eyebrows in a bunch,” Sonoko tutted, “I’ll take care of setting up the initial meet and greet to see if we can get a project up and running.”

Twitchy…? “Hey, _you’re_ the one that posted that!”

Sonoko froze, paling considerably. She shot Shinichi a shaky grin behind her phone.

“No, you don’t get to play cute with me! You basically _led my fans in a revolt against me_!” Shinichi slammed his hands against the coffee table, “And my eyebrow does not twitch when I lie!”

“Shinichi, trust me as your agent when I say: you need to make this cross-over happen!” Sonoko begged, flying right past excuses into appeals, “He is running the circuit on female readers! He’s managed to pull from all genres and keep expectations high! You need to do a cross-over with him!”

Shinichi glared, “Just say it. You want to see a cross-over for one of your OTPs.”

Sonoko held a stiff upper lip for all of five seconds before caving, “Hanaji and Lancelot-san need to meet! I can’t rest until I see the two worlds connected!”

Shinichi sighed. How did he know Sonoko so well? He really wished he didn’t.

“Please Shinichi!” Sonoko begged, tugging on his arm until he finally paid attention to her.

“Ugh, fine,” Shinichi dragged a hand through his hair. “I’ll _ask_ the author if he wants to do a cross-over.”

Sonoko cheered loudly, throwing her hands up in celebration.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself!” Shinichi jabbed a finger at her. “The guy still has to say yes. I can’t make him do anything.”

“But you’re a fantastic writer!” Sonoko smiled smugly. “We’ve got this cross-over in the bag!”

Remember what they say about counting chickens before they hatch?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito, only the events in this fic.
> 
> PS -apparently I want to make Kaito cry. :/

Kaito withheld his excited squeal with the finesse of an academy actor. Today was the book signing of Kudou Shinichi, author of Deduction Queen and Elementary Conan (and Sleeping Totoro, but Kaito didn’t care for that one as much). Kaito had missed the panel the day before due to his own book signing, but he had made _sure_ to keep today free. He was finally going to get all of his first editions signed!

And he was next in line!

“Who am I making this out to?” Kudou asked, face arranged in a friendly smile.

“K-Kaito!” Kaito replied, trying to keep a lid on his inner fanboy. As an author himself, he knew how tiresome it could get with over-exuberant fans.

“Kaito then,” Kudou’s smile brightened as he held out his hands for Kaito’s books, “All three series, I see.”

“Yeah,” Kaito confirmed bashfully, “Got into Deduction Queen first. Great female lead –strong and smart, unlike a lot of them these days.”

“I’m glad,” and Kudou _looked_ glad, “She was my first foray into writing. I wasn’t sure how it was going to go.”

“Sleeping Totoro, though,” Kaito winced as Kudou opened that book to sign, “your writing, it felt kind of sad?”

“It was right after a break up that I wrote it,” Kudou admitted, cheeks red with embarrassment, “I think it kind of showed with Totoro being separated from his own wife.”

“Now that you mention it, I can see that,” and he could. Kaito wondered, briefly, how he didn’t know it before, but Kudou was known for being private with his life. Kaito couldn’t make connections if he didn’t have all the information.

Kudou picked up the last book and Kaito smiled.

“But you really made up for it with Elementary Conan,” Kaito smiled, “The premise is extraordinary and the main character is so endearing. And how many times he’s nearly gotten caught!”

“Yeah,” Kudou agreed, smile soft on his lips.

Maybe… maybe now was a good time to ask? They had a good rapport going, maybe Kaito could feel out the other author’s feelings on a cross-over with his own series, Moonlight Magician?

It… couldn’t hurt, right?

“Um,” Kaito began hesitantly. Kudou stopped mid-pen stroke, “Have you ever… thought of a cross-over…?”

“With Moonlight Magician?” Kudou finished and Kaito’s heart leapt into his throat. Kudou had known exactly what he was going to ask! So did that mean he’d thought about it before? Did Kaito have a chance?

The look on Kudou’s face said otherwise.

“If this is about the panel yesterday,” Kudou started angrily, all friendly pretense gone and Kaito realized abruptly it had been a mask, a _fragile_ one. It had broken, “I already told you my thoughts on a cross-over with that series! And I don’t appreciate being nagged about it everywhere I go!”

“I…” Kaito took a step back, “I’m sor-!”

“Don’t you get that I have a life _outside_ of writing?!” Kudou continued, standing now in his rage, “That Conan _isn’t_ my heart and soul? That maybe I _don’t_ wake up eager to write more about some poor schmuck that has to manipulate others in order to be _heard_?!”

“I-I don’t-!” Kaito could feel stares on his back, pointed, like it was _his_ fault that Kudou had snapped.

How could he have known? He didn’t go to the panel!

“What if I decide I _never_ want to write another novel?!” Kudou shouted now as he shoved his chair in under the table and stalked off, “Did you ever think of _that_?!”

Kaito stood there, unsure of what had just happened. Kudou had walked off, _in the middle of a signing_ , all because Kaito wanted to possibly do a cross-over. And he threatened to never write more Elementary Conan?

“Sir,” a security guard at his elbow called to him, “I’m going to have to ask you to leave the booth.”

“Yeah,” Kaito answered, feeling like it was someone else’s mouth he was using, “Yeah, okay.”

“Your books?” the guard asked, less gruff when he realized Kaito was just as shocked as him.

Kaito tore his eyes from the door Kudou had left through to the thing that had started this all –Elementary Conan vol. 1, first edition, _partially signed_. The sight of it made him sick. He wasn’t sure he would ever be able to read it again without thinking of this exact moment –wasn’t sure if he’d be able to read _any_ of them.

Part of him wanted to just leave them there, to never have to look at them again.

The other, more sensible, part of him knew it wasn’t the books’ fault. They were inanimate objects, ones that apparently gave Kudou a lot of stress, but inanimate none-the-less. So he gathered them up in his arms, hugged them close, and fled the scene before anyone could recognize him as Kuroba Kaito, author of Moonlight Magician.

He didn’t realize he’d been crying until Aoko pointed out tear tracks on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little out of character for him since Kaito is all about dat Poker Face, but I had to add some drama to this fic. Also, in one of my other fics, he made Shinichi cry, so it's only fair. :)

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to say "Good job!" or "Update soon!", just leave a Kudo (or a Kaito. All the Kudos are getting lonely without a thief to chase. ;) )
> 
> If you have some constructive criticism, please leave a comment below. I am always looking to improve my skills, so any advice is appreciated.


End file.
